


making peace to build our future

by Anxiety_Elemental



Series: this, the song of sons and daughters [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game), Warframe
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Illustrated, Rail Agent McCree, Solaris Zarya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-04-24 17:03:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19177630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anxiety_Elemental/pseuds/Anxiety_Elemental
Summary: That forged landing permit had better be worth the trouble, Zarya thinks, watching the small cargo ship in the air above her.





	making peace to build our future

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, the big thing I’ve been working on!
> 
> I've been sitting on an idea for an Overwatch and Warframe crossover for a while, mostly because I'm the kind of nerd who loves to smoosh my two favorite things together and call it a fic. I've had to toss out big chunks several times, and while this'll still be kind of a mess it's in a place I finally feel comfortable to start posting.
> 
> While you do need some familiarity with Overwatch for this series, you don’t need to have played Warframe. If I’ve done my job right this should still be comprehensible despite Warframe’s very dense lore. (Though there are some surprises for those who have played!)
> 
> There are no spoilers for Warframe in this part.
> 
> There are no major content warnings for this fic. (But if there's something I've missed please let me know.)

That forged landing permit had better be worth the trouble, Zarya thinks, watching the small cargo ship in the air above her. She’s waiting on the landing pad with the other Solaris workers, with a ring of armed Corpus crewmen right behind them, ready if they see anything they don’t like. It’s especially freezing out on the Vallis today, the cold air biting at the skin of her arms, frost forming on her exposed cybernetics.

 

The ship lands, and its cargo bay doors open and the perfect image of a rail agent steps out: brightly dressed with confident swagger and a sidearm strapped to his thigh. Zarya doesn’t particularly care for their type: freelancers with no real loyalty, speeding across the Solar Rails from one end of the system to the other whenever they want.

 

This one claims he wants to help their cause, so she’s been asked to meet with him. She trusts him about as she can throw his ridiculous modified ship, and if it were up to her she’s just take the offered supplies and leave.

 

Of course, the landing permit the Corpus saw says he’s here to deliver raw materials for the workers. They will not find the hidden caches of supplies for the Solaris uprising against their Corpus overlords, at least not of the rail agent is as good as he claims to be.

 

“Hey there,” says the rail agent, walking right up to Zarya, “Name’s McCree. I’ve got some things I need to talk to you about, seems like there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding about what was supposed to be in this shipment. Mind stepping aboard?”

 

Really? ‘There was a problem with the shipment’ is his chosen excuse? She does note that he must've worked with Solaris before, or is unusually professional for a rail agent. New off-worlders tend to spend whole minutes staring at any Solaris, at their extensive cybernetics, including the replacement head. If they can skip that right away then there’s some hope that this meeting will at least be tolerable. “Of course,” she says. Another man walks out of the ship, dressed in black and dark green, and though apparently unarmed he carries himself with confidence, though apparently unhappy in the cold enviornment. An ideal companion for a rail agent.

 

“Hey, Genji!” McCree calls, turning to the newcomer, “Mind helping these folks get stuff unloaded?” Genji shivers and his teeth chatter, but gives McCree a thumbs up.

 

McCree tilts his head towards the ship, and Zarya follows him. He leads her deeper into the ship.

 

“Don’t know how you folks can work out there, thought I was gonna freeze my ass off just standing outside the ship,” McCree complains.

 

Zarya remembers something the floor manager likes to say, “Welcome to Venus, it’ll kill you.”

 

“No kidding,” McCree grumbles.

 

They reach the ship’s living area, sparsely furnished but colorfully decorated with what Zarya assumes are souvenirs of his work. McCree sits down at a small table, and waves a hand to invite Zarya to sit too. She stays standing.

 

McCree shrugs. “Genji’ll keep the Corpus grunts occupied, they ain’t gonna bother us, though we probably shouldn’t keep ‘em waiting.”

 

“Then let us get this over with,” Zarya says, crossing her arms, “You said you had a message for Eudico.”

 

“Sure do,” McCree produces a circular data chip with an unfamiliar emblem, a circle with a chevron inside, and places it on the table between them, “From my boss to yours.”

 

Zarya glances down at the chip, then back up at McCree, “Explain what it is your people want with us.”

 

McCree taps the data chip with a finger, “Here’s how Winston explained it to me: Back during the Old War, the big wigs weren’t really all that concerned with what happened to the little colonies, so they got trashed and then left to rot. Well, that didn’t sit right with some good folks who wanted to change that. They banded together to form a group they called Overwatch. It didn’t turn the tide of war, but it kept a lot of people alive, delivering aid and tech to people the empire forgot about. And that’s what we’re here to do, we’re trying to bring that back, fix some of the wrongs in the system.”

 

“We have the Tenno now,” Zarya argues, “Why would we work with you?”

 

“We’re never gonna be able to do what the Tenno can,” McCree admits, “We ain’t a bunch of super powered, immortal, ancient warriors, armed with lost technology. But there’s only so many of them, and I don’t know how much ya’ll hear about what’s going on in the system down here, but there’s been some weird shit going on. You know the Tenno are having some leadership issues? You hear about what’s going on up in Jupiter? You know there’s been sighting of Sentient models not seen since the Old War?”

 

Zarya says nothing. She will not say he has a good point.

 

“I ain’t saying you can’t trust the Tenno or they can’t keep ya’ll safe,” McCree says, “But if they gotta go and beat up some evil robots that wanna eradicate humanity, they’re not gonna have the numbers to protect everyone from all the other bad guys out there. That’s where we come in. We’re not here to tell you want to do or take anything away, we wanna support your people.”

 

Zarya continues to say nothing.

 

“We just want to talk,” McCree pushes the data chip an inch closer to Zarya, “All the details are on the chip. At least ask Eudico to consider it?”

 

Zarya’s never heard the story of Overwatch before, and isn’t convinced by McCree’s words. She doesn’t want the help of off-worlders, but it’s not her choice to make. Zarya takes the chip, “I will let you know what she decides.”

 

McCree tips his hat, “Much obliged.”

 

When they leave the ship they find the Solaris workers have finished unloading the shipments and the Corpus crewmen are wandering off, sure that there is no trouble here. Genji is chatting amicably with another Solaris, and looks up when the Zarya and McCree emerge from the ship.

 

“Hey, Genji! You done yet?” McCree shouts.

 

“Just wrapping up!” Genji shouts back, “You figure out what the problem was?”

 

“Got the confusion all sorted out,” McCree says, and shivers, “Now let’s finish up and go, I’m gonna freeze to death out here.”

 

“It is not that bad,” Genji says, walking over to McCree, “You just like to complain.”

 

The rest of their conversation is drowned out by the sound of the ship’s overclocked reactors as they board.

 

Zarya does not watch them take off and disappear into the atmosphere.

 

She joins the other Solaris as they prepare to bring the shipment home to Fortuna, the Overwatch data chip hidden in a compartment on her rig.

 

She doesn’t like to think about what new trouble might be in store for them.

 


End file.
